FABULOUS as always! Hazelwood cannot write a bad book. The quality of Hazelwood's work is on par with that of Emily Henry, Christina Lauren, and Katherine Center--just as thoughtful, just as nuanced, just as addictive. In a departure from the norm for Hazelwood, this book is sexier with more plot and character development originating from intimacy, which is exactly appropriate for the story being told. While all her books have always been sexy, the attraction stemmed evenly from looks, etc. and banter, behavior, etc. In this book, the attraction is more physical. I wonder if this is a new direction for Hazelwood, or just that this is what felt appropriate for this story.

One thing I have really loved about Ali Hazelwood’s writing is how she has really taken some risks in her past two books and for me personally, it has really paid off. Not in Love is raw and deep. Two flawed, yet loveable and relatable, characters coming together, working through their own respective issues, and inevitably, falling in love was a beautiful thing to read.

Get ready because this one will have all in the feels and probably sweating a little as well. This is definitely her smuttiest book yet, but it is also SO much more. I was prepared beforehand that this was not the laugh-out-loud romcom that I was expecting and that really helped ground my perceived expectations.

Think deep emotions, main characters working through their issues, HOT HOT spice, and get ready for a rollercoaster. It’s different. It’s deep. It’s enjoyable from start to finish. At this point, I will read Ali's grocery list if that’s all she gave us.

Not in Love is a sizzling, smart, and utterly unputdownable romance that brilliantly blends the high-stakes world of biotech with forbidden love. Rue Siebert, a fiercely independent biotech engineer, finds her meticulously ordered life thrown into chaos by Eli Killgore, the infuriatingly attractive man behind a hostile takeover of her company.
Eli is determined to win Kline at all costs, but Rue is the one variable he can’t control. Their chemistry is electric, their secret affair scorching, and their banter sharp enough to cut through the corporate tension. The author masterfully balances the intensity of their forbidden romance with the cutthroat world of business, making for a read that’s as intellectually stimulating as it is heart-pounding.
Not in Love is a whirlwind of passion, power plays, and emotional stakes, proving that all’s fair in love and science. If you’re a fan of steamy, high-stakes romances with a brainy twist, this book is a must-read. The author has outdone herself with this captivating tale of love in the lab and boardroom!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

🫶🏽What I enjoyed
This is another women-in-stem story that we have come to expect from Ali, and I was really into the work place drama/scandal. Rue & Eli have chemistry from the beginning and I was totally rooting for them. Narration was by Callie Dalton who I LOVE, so all the starts for the audio production
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🤷🏻‍♀️What didn’t work for me
This isn’t necessarily Bride level spicy (no 🪢 here), but the number of spice scenes were high. The focus was primarily on Rue and Eli’s physical relationship, and I would have liked to see more of a balance among spice, emotional intimacy, and their lives outside their relationship

Ngl, this is a tough one. I knew this would be different from previous Ali Hazelwood stories, but I don't know if I like the darker take on some of the themes. I often found myself annoyed and frustrated by both main characters. Eli was confusing to me. Hazelwood writes his as this manly man who wants so badly to take care of a partner and likes to cook and who will financially be there and take care of things, yet I never really understood where his feelings came from. His obsession and possessive of Rue almost immediately came across as a little creepy to me? Then we have Rue, who I think was supposed to have some social challenges. Yet in her pov chapters, she seems pretty darn self aware to me. So I wasn't really buying the whole "I'm an oddball in a science field so it's ok for me to be awkward and emotionally immature." During so many parts, I felt like they were both equally unlikeable.
I also felt like the backdrop of the science company (fuel? food? chemistry? decide what you are!!!) added almost nothing to the story line. It could have been any type of company and it would have worked. This just seemed like a throwaway and a less developed STEM backdrop.
All in all, I still enjoy Hazelwood's writing. I just hope we go back to the more lighthearted and romantic stories!

A big shout out and thank you to the publisher for including me in the blog tour for Not in Love and providing me with a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Gosh.

Where do I start? (Some smart-aleck part of my brain is screaming ‘From the beginning, of course’ in a posh accent I do not appreciate. However, I shall listen to it.)

No one’s more thankful to have been able to read this book early. After Love, Theoretically I’ve been obsessively pursuing Hazelwood‘s next release. If you’ve read my review of Love, Theoretically (which I’ve linked for your convenience if you’d like to read) I was pleasantly surprised with how much the author’s work was adapting. Bride, (which was so perfect for me by the way) outside of being greatly suited to her style of writing, also had a uniqueness to it that was so enjoyable; however it was undoubtedly Ali Hazelwood.

But Not in Love is nothing like anything I’ve ever read by Hazelwood before. In fact if we’d done a blind study where I was not informed of who the author was, I would’ve never categorised this immediately as an Ali Hazelwood read and that’s a fantastic thing! It’s like Hazelwood heard every single thing I wished she had done differently with her previous work and served Not in Love to me with a “Here. Review this.” I’m not saying I was walking about upset about things, but some of her first few books read very similarly. Love, Theoretically deviated from that mould, Bride followed and Not in Love broke it.

If you’ve read Hazelwood before you know how her books sound. Or how they read I guess. There’s lots of humour, fun and angst. But Not in Love is by far one of the most saddest, emotionally charged stories I’ve read by Hazelwood. Not tragic, just… there’s a vein of melancholy that runs through the whole story. Yes, there’s some laughs here and there but it’s all dry humour which is perfect and never takes away from the whole tone of the book. The fluffiness you come to expect from Hazelwood is steadily absent. But the depth of suffering, vulnerability and pain Not in Love showcases is unmatched and I would change nothing about it. Nil. Nada. Zilch.

I love that the author gave a small disclaimer that ensured we knew the general nature of what we were walking into and she stayed 100% true to it. She never apologises, tries to sweeten or convert you to the characters’ line of thinking. Hazelwood says “This is who they are. Period.” No talk about understanding or accepting them. That’s a you problem. Perhaps it was this unapologetic honesty that made me fall in love with the characters.

There was a many layer set-up to the plot. There’s the major emotional plot with many subtleties; and there’s a plot linked to the lives of the characters in the story that’s more than it initially seems. My favourite thing about both these plots are their visible invisibility. You see them, but until all the threads are weaved, you don’t truly see them for what they are. I thought it was very well written and until most of it was basically revealed we don’t really guess the direction of things, which is amazing 🤌🏻✨.

The writing as I’ve mentioned earlier has a more serious and sad note to it, but it’s immensely gripping. I started the book with the intention of reading maybe a chapter and soon I was neck deep into it. My favourite part of this book’s narrative is how things aren’t just tossed aside as a plot device to turn up the angst, but everything is quietly considered and acted upon. There’s a LOT of communication, time taken to think about things, patience and eventually the overcoming of fear and embracing of love.

The pace is very even. It draws you in and in until the book takes over and you’re just sitting there done with the book, staring into space. The book is very rooted and doesn’t let you fly on giggles and swoons. I loved that.

There were a good number of characters and they were very well fixed within the parameters of their personalities/roles (both in my mind and in the book). Everyone’s sorted into neat categories and though we initially box them into certain types of people, the book slowly reveals more and more. I’m curious about this book, if it—unlike its predecessors—is going to expand into a series, but I’m not sure. I think Hazelwood has done this before, where she’s sort of set-up the possibility of another couple but I haven’t seen her start a series before. Let’s see, I guess.

I think Hazelwood, in my eyes, has only expanded and written better and better and better from Love, Theoretically. I can’t wait to see what’s next!

Five stars! Happy reading! Check trigger warnings as always.

Rue and Eli are on opposite sides of a hostile takeover of Kline. Rue works as a biotech engineer for the company and Eli works for Harkness, the company who’s taken control of their finances. However, before this happened, they met through an online app for a hookup, and made a connection.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Not in Love. I got off to a rocky start, set it aside, read a few friends mixed reactions and then dived back in, a little more prepared for the story, and was hooked.

I’m not a big fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope if there’s a lot of mean back and forth. It’s hard to come back from that, but this wasn’t that. I’m also not a fan of more sex than plot, and there were quite a few sex scenes. I read a couple, (they were well done and very hot!) and then skimmed over the rest. The plot lines, the reason Eli and his friends were investigating Kline, what was behind the takeover, as well as Rue and Eli’s troubled backgrounds, were what grabbed my attention and kept me invested in the story. The story was more serious, less silly and laugh-out-loud than Hazelwood’s previous romances, and it fit the story. Even though they were on opposite sides of this conflict, they couldn’t stay away from each other. I truly liked both Rue and Eli and rooted for their HEA. I appreciated there wasn’t a dramatic third act breakup, too.

I alternately read an e-copy and listened to the audio version of the story. Callie Dalton and Jason Clarke did a phenomenal job narrating and I loved that they each performed their character the whole way through, even when it wasn’t their POV! Such a treat!

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood is a fascinating forbidden romance between a researcher woman in STEM & the man that came to disrupt everything. Ali Hazelwood continues to showcase captivatingly unique & complex heroines & this is no exception. I love seeing fiercely intelligent women that defy societal expectations that are backed with incredible friends & heart-wrenching histories.

I would make sure that you have some milk on standby because this story brings the HEAT!!! Silly spice analogies aside, I think this may be her spiciest book to date & the characters’ chemistry is out of this world.

It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Ali Hazelwood’s work & I am ecstatic to say this read is no different. I am always appreciative of how she incorporates science & academia into her work, especially with women at the forefront. I feel like I am constantly learning things & find it enthralling.

Not in Love is perfect for fans of…
🩷 Women in STEM
🩷 Spicy Romance
🩷 Forbidden Romance
🩷 Corporate Intrigue

The audiobook! I cannot recommend the audiobook enough. These two narrators are phenomenal & brought this story to the life. Callie Dalton & Jason Clarke are two narrators that made me fall in love with audiobooks, so I was ecstatic to hear them!

If you are looking for a delicious spicy & intriguing romance, I recommend checking out Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood!

Massive thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing & Libro FM for the gifted copy, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

4.5/5⭐️ maybe even 5/5⭐️??? I can’t decide!!!

I am a sucker for Ali Hazelwood. She just has this indescribable way of writing her male characters 🥵 I fall for them every time and Eli is not exception. He is freaking FILTHY and I loved every second of it.

I loved Rue! She was such a fun, refreshing FMC than most of the ones you read about in contemporary romances. She is quirky, relies on herself, and knows exactly what she wants and isn’t afraid to voice it.

I LOVE Eli. I love how he falls first and is such a goner for Rue from the beginning. Can he please be a real person?? Because the thoughts and monologues that that man spews 🥵

This might be the spiciest Ali Hazelwood to date and I ate👏🏻it👏🏻up👏🏻

“I’m going to want to see you every day. I’m going to learn more dishes and pack your lunch and write cute little notes on it. I’m going to ask you if you want to sleep at your place or mine and always assume that we’re spending the night together. I’m going to think about you all the damn time. I’m going to assume I’m watering your plants when you’re out of town. I’m going to hold your hand in public. I’m going to kiss you in public. I’m going to organize surprise parties for you with your friend. I’m going to send a hundred texts per day with stupid online shit I think you should see. Clingy as fuck, Rue. Can you do it? Can you live with me as your boyfriend?”


Huge thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This is a tough one to review for me. This is my first Ali Hazelwood book that I did not thoroughly enjoy.

Let me preface this by saying, I am huge fan of Ali's. I lover her STEM romances and even her PNR book was a hit for me. But this one was just a miss for me in loving it.

This book is written in both first and third person POV. That was big struggle for me to adjust to. I cannot remember if any of Ali's other books were written like this, but if they were, it obviously did not hurt the story for me. However, with this one, I stumbled alot because Rue was written from her POV and Eli was written in third person and when the switch happened, but brain struggled with that.

Ali definitely stayed true to her characters and their mannerisms. I loved that Rue was very shy and struggled with with her awkwardness in social situations. Eli was a bit more difficult for me to connect to and that's because he was written in third person. However, the scene stealer was Rue's best friend, Tisha - loved her!

Overall, this one was just down the middle ok for me. It was not terrible, just not one that resonated with me like her other's.

I loved Rue. Loved her and felt for her and felt seen in ways that are difficult to put into words.

I loved that Eli loved Rue too. He accepted her as she was and was curious, happy, grateful to be in her orbit. His inner monologue was too much with how absolutely gone he was for Rue from the get go. Boy was OBSESSED.

While the content of the book was different (much spicier) and I’ve read a lot of critique about how this was done, I actually felt like Ali did a perfect job with this. Given the unique perspective and ways of processing relationships that Rue had, it made sense for the physical aspect to be the way into more.

As is always the case with Ali’s books, I felt like I saw where the plot was going from the get go, but was still excited to watch it unfold.

Highly recommending that you give this one a chance if you’re a fan of Ali’s work!

Rating: 4.5/5

The angst! He falls first! Forbidden! Spicy! Oh my! This one really said, he’s a simp. And I loved it!!!

I loved the dynamic between Rue and Eli. Rue is so self aware and I love that she was shaken up a bit and was challenged to see a different perspective. Truly enjoyed seeing her process it all. Eli was layered and he wasn’t what I expected. Getting to see his pov and hear his past only added to how deeply he fell for Rue. He works hard and gaining on Rue is no different. The entire plot of the hostile company takeover was so interesting to me.

I really enjoyed reading this one and watching them fall for each other.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


CWs: the author has a note at the beginning explaining some of the content warnings.


I enjoyed this one. I liked the dynamics of Rue and Eli’s relationship, and I liked watching it progress. Eli slowly broke down Rue’s walls, and I liked the way that it happened. I loved that the author included conversations about consent even after the characters had put things down in the app, and I liked that they continued to talk about communication and what they were doing. This book is heavier on the spice than some of the author’s previous works.
I thought the work plot line was really intriguing, and I liked the dual POVs (first-person for Rue, and third-person for Eli) so that we could better understand both sides.
I thought the pacing was good, and the writing style was easy to follow. Some of the topics of conversation were a lot heavier than others, but I felt that they were handled well. I was flying through this book, and I didn’t want to put it down!

I really enjoyed this book. I think one thing that set the tone off a little was the note saying this was erotica, because I wouldn’t describe it as that. it’s certainly spicier than some of Ali’s other work but not to that level in my opinion. I enjoyed the depth of each character and their backstories and how they got through them. while this was a fast fall, I still believed it. I also felt like Rue was relatable with how her mind worked and it made me love her

I am pretty sure I say this everytime, but I truly think this is my favorite Ali Hazelwood book yet. It made me feel my feelings (rude), and I absolutely cried through the last 30%. I so deeply related to Rue, and I was truly obsessed with how gentle Eli was with her. This is simultaneously Ali's spiciest and most emotional book, and its perfection. Highly recommend!

Ali Hazelwood has this knack for writing strong, quirky intelligent women and tough shelled men with marshmallow-y insides, and this is no different.

I was a little disappointed in the formulaic plot, but I enjoyed the characters and the way the this big conflict moves along!

i don't think anybody is surprised when i say i was definitely NOT not in love with this book.

thank you to berkley romance for the eARC via netgalley in exchange for me honest review<3

ali hazelwood really did something with this book, it was different than her other books and i liked it a lot! i'm so used to her books including a bunch of science-stuff that i'm not smart enough to understand but this one definitely scaled it down (which i didn't mind but also was kind of missing it). this book is literally about rue, who works as a biotech engineer, so still science-y!! also, the writing! when i started the book it felt worlds different than her usual writing style but as the book progressed it started feeling more natural and what i was used to.

i actually really liked this books writing style and the overall maturity not in love brought to the table. obviously, this book is literally a "with benefits" book so it has spice (and oh is it HOT) so that alone is fit for a more mature audience, but the writing felt so much more mature than her other books. i feel like the love hypothesis was very much the ao3 reylo fic adaptation that it started out as (which is not a bad thing btw- they are just obviously two very different things and don't get me wrong, i loved it just as much!) and then her writing got progressively more and more mature and led up to this point. i love her other writing, and i also love this new style all the same! additionally, the heavier topics covered in this book also add to the maturity and ali did a great job with handling those more sensitive topics.

i feel like this book is exactly what it claimed to be. i went into this book with sort of low expectations and they were definitely surpassed!! i signed up for a forbidden "with benefits" romance and got that exactly so i'm happy!

more on rue and eli- they are SO HOTT!!! i love how transparent and honest they are with each other from the get go and it creates the foundation for a really good relationship! they both are clear with what they want from each other and know what to expect. what they don't expect is that they SHOULD be enemies because eli is planning to take over the company rue works for. this really set the plot in place for me and it created even MORE tension between them which made it hotter.

obviously there is a lot of spice given the "with benefits" part of this book, but it also gets pretty vulnerable because of rue and eli's honesty towards each other during sex and regular conversation. they have this thing where they tell each other stories from their life that they don't really share with anybody else and it gets DEEP. i loved the duality of their sexual vs. emotional relationship and i think ali balanced that really well.

overall- i liked it! the biggest thing that stood out was the tension between eli and rue. their relationship was so different and interesting but i loved it so much and really did enjoy the story. this book has a lot of spice, thats either a warning or selling point depending on who you are. if you have read ali hazelwood's other books, you might notice this one feels different- less science, more spice, heavier topics, different writing style. really great read!

four stars from me!

Rue was an interesting character for me. I won’t lie, at first, I really wasn’t feeling her as a character. She comes off cold, not super friendly, and does something I’m usually too afraid to do— set boundaries and not feel bad about sticking to them. Her anxieties and past trauma greatly impact the person she is, and I loved seeing her growth as the story progressed.

Eli is the ultimate definition of a man down bad. He’s literally incapable of doing anything in his life except think about Rue. And the fact that we get his POV and actually get to read about him obsessing over how much he wants to be with Rue and cook her food and kiss her until they both stop breathing??? Literal perfection.

The rumors are true, this is Ali’s spiciest book yet. I personally don’t think that the spice overshadows the plot because the chemistry between Rue and Eli is so clearly there. It felt 100% believable that they would be incapable of keeping their hands off each other. But hey, I’m a door-wide-open kind of romance reader so I ate up every second of it

Ali Hazelwood does it again, to no one’s surprise! Although this is my least favorite of her Steminist novels, I do think it far outpaces other contemporary romances with its banter and wit. I hope to see Hazelwood expand from her comfort zone to explore new plots and circumstances.

This was a lot heavier than I expected from Ali Hazelwood. I needed a bit to think about what I wanted to say in the review. I think what stuck out to me was how predatory academia can be to graduate students. So while I was rooting for Eli to get his just desserts, I wasn't as invested in their relationship. Now, what I mean by this is that I'm happy Eli and Rue got together in the end and they showed up for each other without having to change. I was more interested in the external conflict that brought them together. I do think it was an interesting choice to also play with just having a physical relationship as a means to exert energy but feelings were off limits until they weren't. Overall, an interesting read and surprising departure from what I'm used to reading from Ali Hazelwood.